Romans 5:1-11

We have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

Let’s see a show of hands: How many of you were really excited when you read that first sentence?

Interesting…

A couple of weeks ago I went to a baseball game in Washington, and when the Nationals scored a run, 44,000 people jumped up and cheered.

Here, let me ask again: Raise your hand if you were excited when you read that first sentence…

Well OK, that’s more like it!

Can we read these verses and say, “yep, that’s nice?” Can we be so used to hearing that we have been reconciled to God that we take it for granted?

Several weeks back I was teaching a group of Christians and was discussing a similar verse, and I said something like, “doesn’t the understanding of this glorious truth change the way you view everything?”

I was chastised for suggesting such a thing because life is sooo very hard.

I was almost speechless, and I erroneously thought at first that they must have misunderstood the question or that I hadn’t spoken clearly enough, but as it turned out, they understood the question perfectly, they just didn’t think it was that big of a deal. It was a whole different sort of “wow moment” for me.  At that time, I was beginning a class on Hebrews, and we were in chapter 1; it was early in the game, and I have my work cut out for me, so I let it go. This week, we will begin with Hebrews 5:11…

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.

We will be talking a lot about baby’s milk, solid food and getting real this week…

If our text from Romans doesn’t get your attention, then I confess I don’t know what to say.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

You should have jumped up and cheered when you read that, for it is indeed a life-changer in every sense. This reality should affect the way we view everything in our lives. You see dear reader, we reveal where we are spiritually by the way we respond to things. There are millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are considered to be very thoughtful and mature in the faith, who are often in positions of leadership, who expose their own lack of maturity in the faith by the things they say and do. It is not our place to judge them or to criticize them of course, but we should be aware lest they lead us astray. You see, an immature follower of Christ sees their circumstances; a mature follower of Christ sees Jesus.

So, as I was saying, how does our text strike you; are you cheering?

I guess we all still have some work to do.